Chapter 7: Many Meetings
It had been such a long time since L had bothered to indulge in any extracurricular crime that he felt rather twitchy in light of his recent endeavours entering the home of two shadier members of society. It wasn't that he was agoraphobic, but leaving his own cluttered apartment was often something he faced with great reluctance, and the feeling was reinforced when the familiar location was substituted with a top floor apartment in a building which seemed to be designed as a gathering point for drug dealers and prostitutes. He therefore stuck very close to Light as they picked their way through garbage and slumped bodies to the front of the building. Annoyingly, Light seemed to be completely at ease, albeit fastidiously avoiding contact with any of the grime which coated every moving and unmoving shape in the ill-lit street.
"Yo," a voice called to them as they drew towards the door of the building. The words came from the mouth of a stripe-clad, goggle-wearing redhead who was smoking a cigarette and looked and sounded as if he was stoned. "'sup?"
"Matt," Light greeted pleasantly, and from what L could make out, he looked genuinely pleased to see the stoner, who was no older than nineteen, and a good four inches shorter than the two men. Other than that, L could see the resemblance between Matt and Light; aside from the odd attire, the two could have been brothers.
"What's the password?" Matt asked, ignoring L completely.
"Knowing Mello, it's something along the lines of 'get your fuckin' asses up here and don't ask stupid questions', Light replied calmly. L noted the subtle but compelling changes in tone and voice as he imitated Mello; it was uncanny.
"Pretty damn close," admitted Matt. "C'mon, then." He threw the last of the cigarette on the ground and stubbed it out with one black leather biker's boot, then turned into the building. Light followed casually, and L, more reluctantly, did the same. The only reason he was entering this building was because of his fascination with the criminal element; to him, it was a scientific experiment. He wanted to see what made them tick, and how Light interacted with them. A few carefully interjected comments could raise a positive swarm of interesting facts. It was better than a trip to the candy store, except he was far more likely to end up dead; although he knew Mello, he couldn't claim to be bosom buddies with the temperamental blond.
"Who's the zombie?" asked Matt as he led them up a narrow, urine-scented staircase.
"This is an associate of mine," Light demurred effortlessly. "He has been aiding me on this particular venture, and he's a former acquaintance of Mello's."
"'Kay," Matt shrugged. "'Slong as he's not the fuzz."
"Naturally," Light said smoothly, and once again L noted the misleading but not actually dishonest response; Light was a pro.
They clattered up several flights of stairs before they reached a narrow landing; the door read Fuck Off!Not bothering to wonder if the inhabitants were responsible for this welcoming graffiti or not, L paid more attention to the fact that neither of his companions was out of breath. If he were to fight with Light, he wondered who would win.
"Yo, Mels?" Matt called through the door. "Open the hell up, will you?" After a few moments of silence, stomping, swearing and crashing could be heard from inside, and the door was yanked abruptly open by a familiar, scowling face.
"Quit swearing, it's getting on my nerves," Mello chided irritably as he stood aside to let them in.
"Fuck off," Matt rejoined amicably, and tipped his lover a wink, stubbing out his second cigarette under his boot on the doorstep. Mello gave him an exasperated but slightly soft look, something L had never seen in his expression before. Glancing at Light, he immediately knew it was something his partner was aware of and would take advantage of in a second; Matt and Mello were in love, and would probably eat entire tubes of wasabi to protect the other. For L, there was no higher qualification of loyalty. He, too, filed away this information for later reference.
"What. The fuck. Are you doing here?" Mello asked flatly as L appeared over the threshold. Mello's eyes were darting from L to Light, calculating.
"Mello, how have you been?" Light asked politely, ignoring the question completely as he sat uninvited on a battered leather armchair. Surprisingly, the usually leather-clad Mello was in black sweatpants and a loose black sweater rather than his more ostentatious attire. He looked youthful, but innocent would be too great-a stretch for anyone with those stone cold eyes.
"Fabulous," he replied sharply, narrowing said eyes at Light, head snapping away from L. "Just peachy. My favourite car got wrecked on some wild police fucking goosechase to save your sorry ass, and I didn't even get paid for it!"
"Aw, you still bent up about that, Mels?" Matt drawled. "Damn, that chase shit was sweet. It was worth a coupla dents in the auto. Don't listen to blondie," he shot at L and Light. "I've already given him more'n enough comp for that shit. He's just tryin' to milk you."
"Fuck you," Mello scowled at the unabashed Matt. "Yagami's a fucking goldmine if you tap him right."
"Who do you think you're tapping?" Matt asked, outraged. "You're my bitch."
"Who's the bitch?" Mello asked dangerously, his expression both sultry and dangerous.
"Leaving that aside," Light interrupted tactfully, preventing what L was sure would have been a highly entertaining scene, "how has your assignment been progressing?"
"Yeah, about that," Mello said sharply, snapping out of his one-on-one flirtathon in an instant and fixing Light and L once again with his piercing stare, "Since when did you hang out with the fuzz?"
"Hello to you too, Mello," murmured L, who was less than pleased with his new label. "And for the record, I am currently working outside my capacity as a detective."
"No shit," said Matt, who looked a little annoyed; he sent Light a reproachful glance.
"Yo, L," Mello said cheerfully, with a side-order of razorblade, "if you rat us out I'll blow your head off and use your hair as a mop to clean my bathroom with."
"As unlikely as it may sound," L ventured, "I believe it might be less sanitary after that particular enterprise even than it was before." Mello let out a short laugh before focusing on Light again, his gaze shuttering from one to the other like the snap of a camera lens.
"Light, you sure you're not in over your head? This is one fucked up bastard you're playing with."
"Who, L?" Light asked mildly. "I find we get on rather well as long as I keep the cupboard stocked with cake."
"You what? You two fucking living together?" Mello asked incredulously. "That's messed up, man. That's like a sheep living with a wolf!" L froze; he had not anticipated that the exchange of information with Mello might work in Light's favour, too. He shot a glance at his companion.
"Naturally," Light acknowledged, looking entirely unconcerned at the warning. "Remember, Mello, our circumstances differ significantly. You may have misjudged which of us plays which role." It was not often L was confused, but he, too, was for a split second not entirely sure which of them played which role; although he could control Mello, Light was somewhat more of a mystery, and it was difficult to determine which of them held the strings. Was his lack of concern a bluff, or did he truly think that he held the power over L?
"All right," Mello said, giving him curious, searching look. "It's your head, just leave Matt and me out of it when the two of you come to blows. I've got men on eight of your crazies, and the other two I'm still working on; one of them might be in Boston, but I'm keeping tabs on a few other locations. You sure you just want me to watch 'em?"
"For now. Matt?" Light prompted.
"Yeah, Takada says she'll give us the details, so I can hack the network for you whenever," he shrugged. He strolled over to a battered dresser off to one side of the living room, and pulled out a slim folder, which he handed to Light. "The basics are in there for you. You won't need them, but you did ask."
"Thank you," Light said coolly. "As much as I value your skills, Matt, I'm having L field this one since we're going to be operating a bit closer to home for this job. Tell Takada-san its two days' time at six."
"Right," Matt nodded; L noticed that he didn't ask questions. Obviously, both men trusted Light; no surprises there since he spoke to them with every appearance of total respect and affection. The association between the three of them must have stretched back before Light's years in prison, in which case Light must have known the boys in their childhoods, or at least their teens. From school? Judging from the slang Matt employed, it was doubtful, and L knew that Mello had been involved in questionable activity since his early teens at the latest. But Light had been a spotless citizen until his sudden confession; where had he encountered these two shades? It might be the final key L needed to be completely sure...
"Do Mello-kun and Matt-kun have a secure means of communication with which to correspond?" L asked the two young men, bringing his thumb to his lips as he always did when he wished to appear innocent. "It is hardly efficient to maintain contact through frequent visits, yet we need to remain on top of the situation with the criminals we are tracking."
"Good point," Mello said before Light could intervene. "Matt, do your thing. We agreed that Matt was going to install an automatically synchronising tracking system into Light's phone so that whenever we get updated on their movements, so do you," he explained to L. L was not looking at him, but at Light, who withdrew a small mobile phone from a hidden pocket with an unreadable expression.
"If you would be so kind as to synchronise my phone also," L said levelly.
"Sure," Matt agreed, grabbing the proffered device and tinkering with it deftly. Once he had finished, L reached out his hand for both devices and examined them minutely, checking the programme which had been installed for viruses or other unwelcome bonus features. They were clean. It would be an easy matter for him to modify the programme in order to track Light's phone, too.
"I am fascinated to know where Matt-kun became so good with his hands," said L quietly to the boy, mainly to distract Light's attention; he could sense the wary intensity of the other's eyes focused on the back of his neck.
"If you're a detective, then you probably don't wanna know," Matt replied fervently. L gave him a crafty smile.
"There are enough video games in this room for you to have come up with a very convincing excuse for your manual dexterity if you had wished," he replied. "I therefore conclude that you are either winding me up or are proud of your background as a criminal, and that part time work as a kleptomaniac is another thing I can add to your list of skills."
Matt swore softly, and Mello frowned.
"I told you he was as slippery as a fucking weasel," he said to nobody in particular. "Hey, Lawli, on second thought, you and Light are a match made in fucking heaven. Light's a damn genius too." L knew better to reply to this leading statement, and apparently so did Light; they didn't need Mello to know any more about their alliance than was absolutely unavoidable. However, by letting Mello speak, L was finding out piece by piece what lay behind Light's relationship with the two youths. What he really wanted to know, of course, was if Light had been a criminal when he met them, or whether certain events later on had cause him to stain his perfect hands blood red. From what he heard, he could at least surmise that Light was not unfamiliar with the criminal element before the age of eighteen.
"So when did you two meet?" Mello persisted when nobody took his bait. "I can't see the two of you getting to know each other as anything other than business partners."
"Are you questioning Light-kun's taste in men?" L asked innocently, watching Light out of the corner of his eye; his expression froze, and his eyes set on Mello, who looked amused.
"Oh, so it is that?" he mused softly. "And I thought you were a one-person type, Light. After all the time I spent trying to take an interest in me it was Lawli who managed to catch your eye. Well, judging from your past conquests, he is more your type, I suppose."
L was looking from Light to Mello with interest. He had been correct; Mello was always one to talk a little too much about other people's business. If you managed to say exactly the right thing, you could find out a lot from him. If you said the wrong thing, of course, you would more often than not be trying to pick up fragments of tooth from the gutter, but L was an expert. He could tell that Mello had said far more than Light would have chosen, because Light let out an airy, tinkling laugh which L could tell covered his cold fury.
"Oh, you know that you and I would never have worked out, Mello," he said in a voice which gave every impression of being light and cheerful, "you're just a little too hot for me to handle."
"Darn straight," interjected Matt, who had fallen out of the conversation in favour of staring intently at a hand-held console and gesticulating vigorously with his thumbs. "That's right, die, you bastard," he added absently to his game.
"If that's the business all taken care of," L hinted, eager to get out of the shabby apartment before Light could find a way to turn the tables on him.
"Indeed," Light agreed, clearly also eager for Mello's lips to stop moving. "Thank you for your cooperation, gentlemen. I'll send you the payment in the usual way if that is still acceptable?"
"What about payment for the extra job? It's still on, right?" Mello asked pointedly, shifting his eyes momentarily to L. L glanced idly at Light, who was looking daggers at the blond. Ah, perfect. The last piece of the puzzle was within his reach.
"All payment will be sent in the usual way," he reiterated.
"Yeah, but-" Mello protested, but Light cut through him, a sharp burst of temper surfacing through his cool facade.
"For god's sake Mello," he shouted, and then took a deep breath and regained his cool; Mello looked stunned. "We shall discuss it later." Mello nodded mutely. That in itself was a surprise; as far as L knew, Mello submitted to no one. His earlier comment to Light proved that L was one of the few people able to control or outwit him.
Once out of the little apartment, L slumped after Light silently. From the proud, stiff set of Light's shoulders, he was absolutely furious, and L, who tended to avoid confrontation wherever possible, was not keen to provoke another lapse of temper in his companion. However, the downside to this was that if he gave Light a chance to compose himself, then he was also giving him the chance to pull up a cover story. Confronting him when he was still angry and emotional was more likely to produce results, but L, who had spent a lifetime as a pacifist – or more accurately a lifetime of not caring enough to fight for anything – did not have the experience required to stir up a scene. He had learnt enough for one night, in any case. He did not really need Light's confirmation to know exactly what he had to do. Instead, he would eat some cake, do some work and retire to his room, letting the matter rest until the perfect time.
Light had a different idea.
"That," he spat as soon as the door of L's apartment had rattled its way back into its frame, "was low, Lawliet. I granted you a measure of trust by taking you with me to discuss the mission, and you used it against me." Ah, so Light had used the walk home to come up with a guilt pitch, had he? It was a pity L had absolutely no concept of remorse, especially when he was not the only one not playing with a full deck.
"I rather thought Light-kun was doing the same thing in confronting me with Mello-kun," he replied calmly. "You have clearly been in contact with him, therefore I assume that you were aware of our acquaintance, and you invited me to come with you because you wanted to see how he would react to me in the hope that he would give something away, am I not correct? Besides which, Light-kun has not exactly been completely honest with me. Were you going to tell me about your tracking device if I had not discovered it myself?"
"It wasn't something you needed to know about," Light dismissed roughly.
"On the contrary, Light-kun, since we agreed that I would be in charge of the potential disposal of criminals, it is imperative that I know whom we are tracking and where they are," L contradicted. "Besides which, I would prefer to decide for myself what it is necessary for me to know."
"How do you expect me to trust you if you are using this as an opportunity to dig into my past?" Light demanded. L fixed him with a long, blank look before answering.
"How do you expect me to trust you," he said slowly, "if I do not know who you really are, Yagami-kun?"
Light's demeanour changed with such fluidity that L was momentarily stunned. The tense anger melted away, and a kind, genuine look of contentment replaced it, accentuating the attractiveness of his features.
"I'm sorry," he apologised gallantly, giving a charming smile to the slightly surprised L. "I should not have lost my temper so easily. It was natural for somebody as cautious and intelligent as you to want to know about my past. In fact, all I have done is make it look as if I have something to hide, haven't I? Well, since you already think that I am a murderer it hardly matters what you make of my connection with Mello and Matt.
"The truth is, I've known Mello since before I was in prison; I expect you surmised that much? We met when I was sixteen and he was fourteen. Although I was a few years older than him, and a very popular and respected student, Mello took an interest in me, and ignored the strangeness of our acquaintance. He had dropped out of school by then, and was already involved in god knows what. I suppose you could say that I was a mentor for him." Light paused and grinned cockily at L. "That's what people thought, anyway. In fact, Mello was the one pursuing me, and it was through him that I made a lot of my early connections. I won't go into details, but I gained his trust after a particular episode, and quickly I surpassed him, and he was the one helping me out, although I often returned the favour. Matt was a bit of a godsend; I found him first, but he and Mello – well, it's a different story, and one that won't interest you. As Mello suggested, he was eager to be more than just friends with me for a while, but of course that was out of the question.
"Well? Does that satisfy your curiosity, Lawliet?"
It was beautifully done, L thought. It was just as he himself had done for Light, giving him enough information to explain the hints he had discovered, but it was carefully constructed to give almost nothing away. L was 100% sure that much, much more lay behind the brief tale of Light's history, but he was not going to pressure Light for it at this moment. He would let him think he had won. Besides, Light had inadvertently told him just enough to allow him to clarify what he already knew about his past. It confirmed that Light did not suspect how much L knew. This was convenient.
"And the matter of his assumption about the nature of our relationship?" L enquired, thumb drawn to his lip.
"I suppose I cannot condemn you for the insinuation," Light smiled slightly, "since you will be facing your colleagues tomorrow with a similar problem thanks to me. It may come in useful, I suppose, to have this cover story as an excuse for our cohabitation."
"I am sorry," L apologised with admirable affectations of sincerity. "It was inconsiderate of me to say that I did not trust you. If this partnership is to work, we need to be able to be honest with each other. I won't attempt to sabotage you again, if you agree to do the same with me."
"Of course," Light nodded, looking appeased. "As mature adults, it is fruitless to bicker about such trivial matters."
So, peace was re-established, thought L, with very little betrayed all told. But Mello had given L more to think about than Light had thought to cover. It was clever of him, to make the main issue about Light's relationship with Mello, and L had helped his own case by focusing on his and Light's own relationship in order to throw Light off the scent, but for somebody as observant as L, it was fruitless to try and distract his attention.
"I thought you were a one-person type, Light."
"What about payment for the extra job? It's still on, right?"
Only somebody with razor-sharp skills of observation and enough paranoia to power an armoured tank would pick up on the two carelessly uttered phrases and put them together, but luckily for L, he was that type of person. He had already come to the conclusion that Light was attempting something which he was keeping private from him, and the secret mobile Light kept supported the theory. Whether Mello had purposely betrayed the fact, or whether he genuinely thought that L was Light's new lover and knew about the 'extra job' too he could not tell. But the connection remained suspiciously strong. The only circumstance that had changed in Mello's eyes was the apparent development of a relationship between L and Light, therefore the extra job had at least a 43% probability of being to do with somebody who had previously been close to Light. Working with what he had already uncovered with the files containing the list of criminals who were escaped or walking free, L now knew more than enough to tell him that Light had a serious ulterior motive.
Although L's head told him all of this, even he was not too oblivious to notice that his heart told him a different story. His focus on his relationship to Light had been more than a cover. Somewhere within him, he almost wished that could be the case. Some part of him he had thought was long dead was not at all averse to the notion that it might have been a possibility, that maybe Light could feel that way about him. But he knew that it could not be so. It was a heartbreaking shame, but L knew that he must not let emotions get in the way of cold, hard logic.
"Light-kun," L called softly, and Light, who was pulling on his pyjamas before the chain was closed around their wrists, turned at the sound of his voice. "I still have your phone."
Their eyes met as the small device changed hands, and L kept his own face as smooth and impassive as Light's. Would he take it as a symbol of trust, or would he be suspicious? L could not be certain that Light would be trusting enough of him to take it as a sign of good faith, but at least L's own skill, and the fact that he had not been more than a metre away from Light since receiving the phone, should make it impossible for Light to know or even suspect that L could now track every transaction Light undertook.